1 . My elephant adventures began in 1984 when, with our one-year-old daughter, my husband and I crossed the jungle in a jeep, sticking behind a lorry for comfort and company. The elephants standing like watchers on either side of the forest highway had us praying for our safety. One elephant made loud noise and angrily pawed the ground, warning us off. We raced away before they could attack.

It was wise to keep elephants at a distance. We heard stories of tourists whose jeeps were overturned, and a couple of photographers were killed because they moved too close. Elephants are misleading animals. They give people an impression of being quiet and kind, so tourists think it’s safe to picnic in the jungle. Yet angry elephants have knocked them down in seconds before they could take off.

Elephants might make life unpredictable and dangerous. It’s difficult for inexperienced environmentalists to even, begin to grasp this reality. I’ve heard city people say “We humans are encroaching (侵害) on their forests.” But what’s the solution?

When a poor farmer borrows heavily to plant a crop, he’ll do anything to protect it. His life depends on it. Elephants ruining an about-to-be-harvested corn field cannot expect to be welcomed like special guests. The battle between beasts and farmers is violent.

Experts are working on solutions to human-elephant conflicts. Some are sure to fail to like the plan to build electric fences around human settlements. Elephants rapidly figure them out and come in, around and over them.

There are more questions than answers, for sure. But as my husband said, “More people die in car accidents every single day, in every city on the earth. But they won’t take cars off the roads, will they?” So we need to seek practical ways of preventing elephant accidents.

2 . Have you imagined that planting trees can make a big difference? People say that one man can’t make a difference, but Abdul, a 60-year-old taxi driver, has _________ that doing a _________ thing over a long period of time can _________ very much. He has planted at least one tree every day since he was 12 years old, which means that he has so far planted a small forest of over 17,500 trees.

Abdul has worked as a(n) _________ for most of his life. He makes _________ money from his job, but he somehow tries to buy at least one _________ every day. He considers it his _________ to the world. _________ he plants them on government land so nobody can cut them down later. He also waters them, and if he sees anyone cutting a tree, he _________ them.

Abdul, his wife Jorna, and four of their children live in two __________ houses, on a piece of __________ that is __________ by the Faridpur deputy commissioner’s office. They have no land of their own.

Sometimes, his wife commands him not to plant trees but he doesn’t listen. Abdul’s 30-year-old son has never told his father not to plant trees, because he thinks his father does a good thing for   __________.

Abdul’s colleagues all know about his __________ habit, and praise his __________. Whoever can ask of him anything, he will do his best to help. Therefore, Abdul is loved by __________.

For his __________, Abdul was recently __________ by The Daily Star, and given $1,253 to help him build a __________ home for his family. The Daily Star wished everyone to __________ his example, and protect the environment.

“I can’t do it alone. I need the help of you all,” Abdul said in his speech.

Hanfu is one of the traditional types of Chinese clothing. The term “Hanfu”, created in recent years by Internet users,     1     (describe) the Han people’s clothing during the Han Dynasty. But it was banned at the beginning of the Qing Dynasty.

When people talk about Hanfu, it     2     (usual) means a long robe (长袍) with loose sleeves and a belt at the waist. The materials for making the clothes were carefully     3     (choose), such as damask silk, cotton and so on.

Hanfu is     4     symbol of traditional Chinese culture. It also has a far-reaching influence on the clothing in other neighboring Asian countries, such as the Japanese kimono (和服)     5     the Korean Hanbok. Having been       6     of fashion for more than 400 years, Hanfu is reconstructed by many Chinese people as part of a trend     7     the public should be proud of their Chinese culture. Many supporters believe that     8     (wear) Hanfu brings them a strong sense of national identity.

Many     9     (university) in China have a Hanfu Society whose members wear Hanfu     10     (celebrate) traditional Chinese festivals, and they use that opportunity to introduce their Hanfu to others.

Li Hua and I were neighbour and we went to the same school. We always went to school together. We was good friends and had a great deal share every day. However, one day, Li Hua copied my homework, that made me so angrily that I did not want to be friends with him any longer. Then on Monday morning I run downstairs without realizing it was raining, but there was no time to return home to fetch a umbrella. It happened that Li Hua was just around the corner but he offered to share his umbrella with me. He made an apologize to me in a gentle voice. I forgave about him and gave him a hug.

I’m really glad that you asked about sports in my school,

Yours,

Li Hua

6 . Criticism(批评)is harmful to healthy relationships.     1     Being overly critical, however, can cause tension in a relationship over time. The following are some ways to catch criticism before it begins.

Think before you speak. Before you criticize, pause and consider whether you really need to say anything at all. If someone did something to get on your nerves, would you really need to point it out?     2     Take a few deep breaths and leave the room instead of criticizing.

Be realistic.     3     Your tendency to criticize may come from expecting too much from others. Sometimes you may find yourself consistently annoyed or disappointed with others. It may be a good idea to adjust your expectations.

Separate the individuals from their actions. Critical people often focus on the negative aspects of a situation or a person, failing to see good qualities alongside negative ones. If you find yourself making assumptions about a person’s character, stop yourself. Try to separate a disappointing action from the person doing the action.     4    

    5     Oftentimes, being critical results from how you’re choosing to see a situation. Everyone has drawbacks and imperfections. However, the vast majority of people have good qualities that outweigh the bad ones. Try to focus on a person’s positive qualities over their negative ones.

7 . Two earth scientists at the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpu are calling for flood prevention and warning systems in areas around the Himalayan mountains to protect people from floods or to warn them of the potential disasters. In their Perspectives piece published in the journal Science, Tanuj Shukla and Indra Sen point out that rising temperatures due to global warming are leading to an increase in flood danger for people who live in the area.

As Shukla and Sen note, the Himalayas hold the most ice anywhere on the planet outside of the polar regions — snow-covered mountains and glaciers hold on to massive amounts of water. In the past, as snow and ice have melted in the warmer months, mountain lakes have formed with natural dams holding them in place. But previous research has shown that increases in the amount of water buildup in such lakes and melting of the ice in the rocky material that makes up natural dams can lead to massive floods. Just eight years ago, they note, melting ice in northern India led to an avalanche (雪崩) that pushed the natural dams past its breaking point. The water rushing down the mountain, carrying with it large rocks, trees and other debris, wound up killing over 5,000 people. Such events are common enough to have been given a name-glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs). They can also be caused by extreme rain events during Monsoon season, which, due to global warming, are happening more often.

Shukla and Sen point out that as the planet grows warmer, more GLOFs are certain to occur. But they also note that the same outcomes are not unavoidable. They suggest that the construction of reservoirs to hold extra rain, structures to change the course of water, detention basins (滞洪区) along with embankments (堤岸) could prevent such flooding. They also suggest improvements in technology could help — upgrading cell service in the region, for example, would allow people upstream to call and warn those living downstream. They also suggest building a satellite network that could be used to monitor troublesome areas. Taken together, such technology could form the basis of an early warning system. Without such action, they warn millions of people could lose their lives in the coming years.

8 . I was checking out at the supermarket counter on Wednesday night, ready to pay for my bananas, when all of a sudden, fear came upon me. My wallet was gone. And I could only have left it one place: the G9 bus, from which I had gotten off minutes earlier and which was now speeding to some stops. The moment of realizing it was gone was followed by mental math. How much time and money would it cost to replace the credit cards, the driver’s license, the expensive lipstick ($55!).

Two hours after I was back at my house, I heard a knock on the door. My husband answered while I sat in the dining room on the phone with a credit card company. “Does Jennifer live here?” I heard someone say. In her hand was my wallet, without a penny missing. She left before I could offer my gratitude to her.

After I posted the story, I heard from her boyfriend, who identified the good citizen as Erin Ball, a 26-year-old girl working for a trade organization.

Once I figured out her, I called to thank her. She said she spotted my wallet and thought that it’s more dangerous to go to a stranger’s house than leaving the wallet with the driver, but she still decided to take the chance. “If I were in that situation, I would want someone to try to find me,” she said. Ball doesn’t find her actions particularly excellent. She added, “It’s not hard to do small things for people. ”

After Ball found my wallet, she decided to post a picture of my driver’s license online before going to my house, trying to see if anyone knew me. No sooner had she left my doorstep than I got emails from two neighbors who recognized my face, both offering to help me find my missing property.

Ball found my house on a bitterly cold night for which I was extremely grateful. Looking back, I’m not surprised someone had wanted to help a stranger. A warm current of honesty and harmony is running through this town.

9 . Learn a language in the native country and add some extracurricular fun with these holiday courses that offer a skill or some culture, too.

Mandarin and various activities, China

Four hours of lessons a day plus the benefit of one-to-one level assessment and study plan is the deal at the Hutong School’s Mandarin courses in Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou. A two-week course also includes up to four activities a week — tai chi, cooking, even skiing — and there are outings at the weekends to explore more of China.

Greek and culture, Lefkada

Omilo runs Greek courses in Athens and Nafplion, and on the islands of Syros and Lefkada. The latter is perhaps the most appealing: classes take place 200 metres from the beach in the village of Agios Nikitas on the west coast. A week’s course includes 24 hours of lessons over six days and at least four activities. Strangely, students must be 26 or over.

Japanese and pop culture, Fukuoka

Cactus has courses in 120 destinations in Fukuoka. Lessons are from 9:30 am — 2: 30 pm, Monday to Friday, and cover movies, music, TV and books as well as the Japanese language. Optional extras include studying tea ceremonies, calligraphy, Japanese food and other customs.

French and horse-riding, Provence

CESA has great courses based at a mansion in Aix-en-Provence. Two weeks of French lessons can be combined with horse-riding (20 group lessons per week), painting, hiking, cooking or oenology. Accommodation options include staying with a host family. The school arranges activities such as town tours.